Caroline Cannon-Brookes's Story

Frozen Shoulder

From the beginning of 2008 I noticed a dull ache in my left arm. My very elderly father had recently died and I imagined that the exhausting process of sorting out the family home, which contained the life of my parents, and removing the contents prior to its sale, together with a fairly demanding work schedule, had been the cause and that it would go away. On the contrary it slowly got worse so stretching to pull the left hand side car door shut, adjust the driver’s mirror, take a sweater off over my head or undo clothes from behind became increasingly painful, while it really hurt at night necessitating sitting up to turn over and consequently broken nights.

By September I decided to seek help and reluctant to visit my GP it was suggested that I should see Clive Lindley-Jones at Helix House Natural Health Centre in Oxford. During a friendly initial consultation he told me that I was suffering from ‘frozen shoulder’ or ‘adhesive capsulitis’ and that it was not known what caused it and it particularly affected middle aged females (like myself). Clive recommended a series of treatments which involved applying pressure to various points on the arm and shoulder. These started fairly intensively on an almost weekly basis for the first few months and were subsequently combined with a series of exercises to do at home. I was very pleased that gradually the pain went at night and I could stretch my arm out and put on my clothes without being conscious of discomfort. During the last few months I have had treatments at greater intervals and I am very happy that it appears to have unfrozen, is greatly improved and I no longer feel any pain and can move my arm as before.

- Caroline Cannon-Brookes, March 2009

Gareth morse's Story

Three years after a terrible accident and major surgery, 80% of my muscles were working incorrectly and my body was slowly shutting down.

The process is now being reversed and my body functions are slowly going back to normal. Had I not been so sceptical and come earlier to have osteopathic treatment, perhaps my body would not have deteriorated to the same degree and I could have had a better life much sooner

- Gareth Morse

Helen Hunter's Story

I first visited Clive on the recommendation of a mother whose daughter Clive had succesfully treated for R.S.I.

I had a very painful knee and an excruciating pain in my thigh. That pain has never returned, the knee is much better and my whole leg feels stronger and more reliable.

Clive has a detailed knowledge of the human skeleton and the inter-relation of the muscles, and in endlessly patient searching out and correcting the most minute misaligments.

I am grateful for his skill and dedication.

- Helen Hunter

Paul Meadows's Story

Two years ago I sustained a serious shoulder injury whilst working out in the gym.

As a self employed person this injury affected every aspect of my life, and my income.

I received a recommendation from a friend to visit Clive Lindley-Jones at Helix House, and after the treatment I received, have never looked back. I am now fitness training and working harder than ever thanks to the treatment I received.

I cannot thank Clive and his staff at Helix House enough.

- Paul Meadows, Electrical Contractor

Diane Parker's Story

This is my grandson Dani. He is my third grandson and has 2 older brothers. Jack is 8 and Ellis is 5.

Since his birth in September 2004, we nicknamed him 'moaner' because he always seemed to be grizzly and rarely content. He disliked laying on his back and was only happy (although not very) if he was being carried around upright. He would moan and sometimes screem for long periods of time as if in discomfort and would often arch his back or pull his legs up while crying. He would not sleep for more than 2 hours at a time during the day and night which needless to say was very hard work for his parents (and grandparents who help with his care!) Although being breast fed, we thought he might be suffering from baby colic and tried all the remedies but nothing seemed to work. After 4 months my daughter decided to switch gradually to bottle feeds to see if that would help, but no difference. She tried different formula milk for colicky babies and bought expensive feeding bottles designed for colicky babies. There was some improvement but not much.

I had had many treatments with Clive Lindley-Jones myself for various ailments and had great faith in his healing. My daughter however was a litlle more sceptical but agreed for Dani to see Clive to see if he could help. After one treatment of cranial osteopathy Dani laid on his playmat for nearly 45 minutes, smiling and looking around as if if he was comfortable for the first time. After 3 further treatments, he is like a different child. He is still 'moans' sometimes and it would be abnormal if he didn't, but generally he is content and happy. His discomfort seems to have gone and he actually enjoys laying down, he even looks forward to going to his cot at bedtime! He has not quite slept through the night yet but he has slept from 8.00pm til 3.00am which is wonderful. At the moment he still wakes for a drink in the night but will usually go straight back to sleep until morning.

His mum is eventually getting a bit more sleep and we are all enjoying a smiley, happy little boy.

- Dianne Parker, April 2005

Finlay Jone's Story

Finlay was only 2 weeks old when he appeared to be having dreadful griping pains that were becoming deeply distressing to him. We noticed that he was drawing his legs up to his belly and wriggling from side to side with pain. He was screaming as opposed to just crying and although at first we thought he had mild colic, he got worse and worse and began to suffer during the day – sometimes screaming for 4-5 hours. He was unable to settle and would not sleep for long periods of time as most newborns seem to be able to do. He was also unable to bring up any wind immediately after his feed and it could take us more than an hour to do so and he sufferered with terrible hiccups.

His only comfort was to be laid over our shoulders like a rag doll where he would doze off but as soon as we laid him down, the pains would return together with the screaming.

We then decided to seek the help of a cranial osteopath and came to Helix House. Within 48 hours of Finlay’s first treatment, we noticed an improvement. He seemed more content and although we had bouts of the screaming, they were certainly fewer than before and he began to sleep for longer which meant that I began to feel more human.

We have now had 4 sessions and he is a completely different baby. At 5 weeks old , he now sleeps well during the day and at night sleeps from 8pm till 2am and then straight through until the morning, which is wonderful. He still has wind on a milder scale and his able to bring it up straight after his feed which has made a far more contented baby and parents.

- Finlay's parents

Kate's Story

About six months ago, I tripped while running for a train and fell head first onto the platform. I may have blacked out momentarily, as there is a gap in my memory between running, and finding myself on the ground. I took the impact on the right side of my body, primarily to my right cheekbone. The area around my eye immediately swelled up like an apple, and the bruising took about six weeks to disappear.

One of the strangest things about my accident was that for several weeks afterwards I felt very little pain. I felt bruised and sore, but it was as if I couldn’t allow myself to really feel the pain of what had happened. I was in a state of shock. It was only when I started the cranial osteopathic treatment that I was able to acknowledge just how much the blow to my head had hurt – and was then able let it go.

Immediately after the accident I got checked out at A and E. They confirmed that I hadn’t broken anything and incredibly fortunately, I had sustained no injury to my eye. But, as far as the NHS was concerned, they could do nothing more for me. My doctors said I would be OK after two months of rest. So, I had two months of rest, and at the end of it, I still felt absolutely dreadful. I was completely exhausted, my neck and jaw were ‘out’, I had acute pain in my shoulder and right arm and I had difficulty walking. There was simply no way I was fit to return to normal life.

I found Helix House on google, and was highly impressed by Clive’s qualifications and experience. I booked an initial session and subsequently had around two months of intensive treatment, which became more infrequent as I began to recover.

Clive’s technique was very effective. He checked every aspect of my muscular functioning to identify which muscles had stopped working, why, and which other muscles I was using to compensate. He took meticulous notes, which in the first two or three sessions made it sound as if I had been in a car accident: jamming of the cranial membrane and mandible, whiplash in the neck, acute problems in the functioning of the shoulder, leg muscles and right hip. In addition, there was the aftermath of concussion to deal with, and my need to regain my ability to focus.

After the first few sessions, I was absolutely exhausted and slept for hours at a time. I found that often, I felt worse for several days after a treatment, and only then started to feel better. Slowly however, I started to experience relief from the physical discomfort.

It took about three months for me to begin to feel sustained relief from my symptoms. As I write, I’m still not fully recovered. It will take a few more sessions over the coming months before I’m back to the fitness levels I enjoyed before the accident.

However, there is no doubt in my mind that, had I been left to recover by myself, I would not have done so. I was really struggling to deal with the shock and pain of the blow to my head. This was not going to go away without treatment to readjust and “unlock” the bones and surrounding support structure of this most sensitive part of the body. The same was true for my neck, shoulder, arm, hip and legs. They were all “out”, they all hurt, and the longer I left it, the worse it would have got as I tried, unsuccessfully, to compensate for the failure of my normal skeletal and muscular functioning.

Cranial osteopathy was an absolute must for someone in my condition. Clive’s diagnoses were accurate and he was very skilled in treating my symptoms. Not only did he stop them from getting worse, he undertook a process for me and with me that will restore me to health. He also gave me confidence that such a healing process was both necessary, and achievable.